Dave Holland has won more awards than any other artist in the 52nd Annual Down Beat Critics Poll. In the August issue of the American jazz magazine, Dan Ouelette writes: “When Dave Holland was an aspiring young artist on the cusp of the British pop boom in the late 1950s to early 60s, he chose to play the bass because the instrument allowed him to stride forth as a musician without having to be in the spotlight. Little did he realize that the bass would one day thrust him to the front of the stage and garner him jazz éclat.

“A perennial Down Beat Critics Poll winner, Holland this year duplicates his momentous achievement of 2002 when he became the first person in the magazine’s history to win four awards in one year. In the 2004 Poll, he scores top honours for Jazz Artist, Acoustic Bassist, Acoustic Group (Dave Holland Quintet) and Jazz Album of the Year (“Extended Play” on ECM).”